I have a little bit of a problem when it comes to make up. I think we all know this. My justification is that make up (like shoes and jewellery) doesn’t care what size you wear. Any bugger can walk into any shop and buy any make up and wear it. So ner.

Recently, Boots and Superdrug have also been enabling me, courtesy of their almost constant 3 for 2 deals. Here’s a few of my recent purchases, plus something I cobbled together from some of my current faaaaves.

The shameful thing is, there are a couple of products I haven’t included here. Yeah, there’s more. Oh well! Here we have a nice selection, including a freebie-with-purchase. We have the Collection Work The Colour Smokey Eye Palette, Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl pencil in Nude, MUA eyebrow pencil in Brunette, L’Oreal Super Liner Mat-Matic in Ultra Black, Collection Work The Colour nail polish in Peacock Green (this was free when you spent either £3 or £4 on Collection products), Maybelline Colorstay Stripped Nude lipstick in Honey Beige, and a Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Timeless Black. I also purchased the Seventeen Phwoarr Paint Heavy Duty Under Eye concealer in Fair, and (something I haven’t photographed but WILL be reviewing) a Soap & Glory Thick & Fast High Definition Collagen Coat mascara… which is GREAT but you will hear about that soon.

Here are the pencils, Colour Tattoo and lipstick swatched. I’ve been after a really good nude lipstick to use every day at work, and whilst I am very happy with both Myth by MAC and the Revlon Colorburst Matt balm in Complex, there’s still room for a few different shades. I think Honey Beige is great, and it’s really nude but just deep enough to refrain from looking like concealer lips. The Rimmel liner and MUA brow pencil are great, but I’m not sure how much I like the way the Mat-Matic pencil applies. I’ll have to practice a bit more and let you know! Timeless Black is REALLY black and I think it’ll be good as a base or when I want a smokey, smudgey eye.

I’m really starting to love the whole of Collection’s offerings. I already have (and use pretty regularly) the Work The Colour palette in Nude, which has some very high-end dupeable shades, and this palette is also really good for being a mix-and-max smokey offering. The idea is that you match shadows from each column (plus the highlighter, which I don’t really use!) for a complete shadow look. These palettes come in a cardboard box, with a clear plastic window over the shadows and I think there must be a magnet-closure system, but it seems sturdy enough and would therefore be great for travelling or going into a makeup bag.

Here they are, swatched in the order they appear in the palette. Apart from the super light one in the top left hand corner, I think they’re all pretty nicely pigmented and fairly blendable. For £3.99, it’s a fantastic bargain!

I also mentioned that I got this, because I’ve recently been suffering a little bit from bags under the eyes (*cough* playing Dragon Age too late… *cough*) so figured it’d be good to try, as I’ve heard good things and have been in a love-hate relationship with my Collection Lasting Perfection concealer of late.

It is CERTAINLY heavy duty! It’s a bit on the orange side, as well, but it blends out quite nicely and doesn’t settle in any lines or creases (oh God I am getting old) as much as I feared it would, so: so far, so good.

I also bought a few skincare items. I’ve been loving the Good Things Fresh Start creamy cleanser, but after suffering from some serious excess oil in the past month or so figured I’d give their oil-specific products a go. Along Came Betty’s The Night Shift is my current night cream go-to, and again given my current oil issues I picked up the Superdrug Oil Balancing Moisturiser for about 36p in the reduced section. Well, I’m glad it was only 36p because it it makes my face SO shiny… don’t see any mattifying or balancing going on at all!

Finally, here are the products I used for my face yesterday. L-R we have Maybelline Brow Drama sculpting mascara in Medium Brown, Urban Decay’s Oz: The Great and Powerful Glinda palette, Collection Lasting Colour gel eyeliner in black, Revlon Colorburst Matt Balm in Striking (have I mentioned how these are my current favourite formula yet?), the ELF eyeshadow primer, Maybelline’s The Matte Maker powder, Urban Decay 24/7 double ended pencil (I used Zero), Maybelline SuperStay Better Skin foundation, ELF Studio Golden Bronzing palette, Company Lashes mascara and Benefit Hervana. PHEW!

This was how it all looked! Also featured is my new favourite T-shirt from Primark ❤

I did my liner using my new Real Techniques liner brush from the Starter Kit- OMG best liner brush ever! I have NEVER managed to get the line this neat before in my entire life! Rather annoyingly, though, just after getting ready my mum and I took the dogs for a walk ‘whilst it was still dry’… I’m sure you can guess where I’m going with this! Luckily, most of the make up held up in the deluge, so I can confirm it’s all waterproof, baby! Haha!